Kindness and Cruelty, A Shinobi's Hands
by Twofern
Summary: Escaped from his imprisonment in Konoha and traveling with the oddest choice of companion Mizuki attempts to survive working with the only set of skills he has - that of a shinobi. AU. Complex Mizuki with not so simple motives as the Anime or Manga.


Legal Disclaimer: I own nothing created by Masashi Kishimoto whether it be the world or characters of Naruto. This work is a piece of fan fiction and written freely for public enjoyment.

Reviews of any size, encouragement, or criticism are appreciated.

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Moon light shimmered down into the forest of the Land of Grass in thick, bright beams piercing the canopy in the sparse gaps between trees. Hidden away from each of these brilliant luminescent shafts two white haired men sat across from each other with a banked campfire slowly dying ember by ember between them. The atmosphere between the two was tense and their relationship seemed to be more along the lines of a hunter and his prey than any sort of familiar companionship.

The foreboding silence was broken by the older of the two – who was dressed in loose, bright red and white clothes; attire which contrasted the almost skintight, somber black fatigues of his counterpart almost to an extreme – first as he set down a travel worn journal he had been writing in and fixed the man opposite him with a cold stare. "You know there are only two things I should do with you." The younger man let out a single bark of laughter and then nodded his head solemnly – bitterness and fear the only emotions showing in his eyes as he faced his captor.

Watching this the older man looked down and nudged the ashes from the fire with bottom of one the heavy sandals covering his feet. Rubbing the back of his head with his left hand the man sighed. "I should kill you here myself; end everything with not another word, or report you to the Hokage." The older man fixed the younger again with his stoney gaze. "And while you're good, and no doubt with the way you think things out this area is trapped from here all the way back to the Land of Fire, in either case you wouldn't last."

Shaking his head in disgust and leaning forward – revealing the knives sheathed grips pointing towards the ground harnessed under each of his arms – the younger man licked his lips as he finally found his voice. "You sit here and acknowledge 'the way I think things out' and yet you still find it believable that what I did was an earnestly planned out goal of mine?" The young man shook his head again, long white hair flying about wildly, and shrugged with a bitter smile plastered beneath his dead eyes. "Besides, it all turned out for the best if you consider everything without bringing your conflicting emotions into the matter."

"It all turned out for the best?" The older man hissed his question out as rage compounded in his face and he gripped his hands about his knees hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. "My godson traumatized, and the only person who's ever shown him any kindness – who was also supposed to be your closest friend – almost killed by your own hand and you say that is the best thing that could of happened?"

The younger man raised one eyebrow and simply waited as the other man's rage roared about him.

Breathing heavily the older man gulped deeply as he calmed down enough to reduce his anger to simply glaring at the person across from him. "You don't have the right to judge me." He snarled as the former ninja across from him continued to watch him silently.

The laugh the younger man let out a bout of laughter that sounded as cheerful as it was in reality fake and then untied the bandanna from his head. Throwing the bundle of cloth at the older man the faint light of the forest glinted against a strip of metal inside the cloth as it flew through the air. The older ninja snagged the impromptu missile out of the air and found himself looking down at a familiar symbol etched into a thick plate of steel.

Standing up the young, former ninja dusted his black pants off and stretched in a single, exaggerated motion. Offering a grin to the unmoving man opposite him who was seemingly transfixed by the small bundle he had thrown at him the younger man finally gave his response. "I'd of course never judge one of the Sannin – after all the three of you have shown us all that the great can never fall, right?" Not waiting for a response to that extremely pointed barb of a question the young man turned and raised one hand in farewell and began to walk off into a deeper section of the forest. "You can keep the camp – it doesn't do to have one's elders moving off into unknown danger once it's dark after all."

Letting the bandanna and forehead protector of a shinobi of Konoha drop into the dirt by his feet Jiraiya watched the missing-nin, and attempted murderer of his godson, Mizuki walk slowly away – his back full of openings and inviting death from the more experienced ninja behind in – with anger and confusion in his eyes. It was only after a few moments that the white haired Sannin caught another figure moving along with his former ally and the older man's confusion only rose as he could swear a small fox was walking in the shadows next to Mizuki, matching his pace step for step.


End file.
